Adapter for connecting aerosol valve to pouch of high pressure vessel

ABSTRACT

Provided is an adapter for connecting an aerosol valve installed at a middle part of a mounting cup fixed at a top end part of a high pressure vessel to a pouch of the high pressure vessel, the adapter including: a combination portion comprising a top end part interposed between the high pressure vessel and the mounting cup and having an approximately hollow cylindrical shape to surround an external side of the aerosol valve exposed to a lower part of the mounting cup so that the combination portion can be separated from the external side of the aerosol valve; and a connection portion comprising a top end part combined with a lower end part of the combination portion as a single body and a lower end part connected to an induction pipe inserted in the pouch and having an approximately hollow cylindrical shape. The adapter can be widely used regardless of the type of the aerosol valve so that the adapter has a simplified structure and production method with reduced costs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2009-0054556, filed on Jun. 18, 2009, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a high pressure vessel, and moreparticularly, to an adapter for connecting a pouch, which is inserted ina high pressure vessel and of which external side is pressurized, to anaerosol valve controlling to eject contents accommodated in the pouch tothe outside of the high pressure vessel according to a user's operation.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a pressure vessel or a high pressure vessel that is wellknown as a spray and injects gas, medicine, or perfume uses Freon gas soas to inject contents, or installs a pouch in which the contents areaccommodated, at the pressure vessel and then seals the pressure vesselor the high pressure vessel by injecting gas into the pouch so as toapply pressure to a circumferential portion of the pouch.

Also, an aerosol can such as an aluminum (Al) can or a tin (Sn) can isgenerally used. Thus, the pressure vessel or the high pressure vesselmay be corroded according to contents accommodated in the aerosol can,and contents that may be accommodated in a can are limited.

For the above reason, a pouch has been developed. The pouch is widelyused to package retorted food products or fluent substances in a gelstate and acts as a layer for preventing occurrence of bacteria andthus, can be kept for a long time. When the pouch is used, contents tobe injected are filled in the pouch, and high pressure gas or compressedgas is injected into the high pressure vessel so as to apply pressure tothe pouch.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional highpressure vessel including the above-described pouch. Referring to FIG.1, a mounting cup 1 is fixed at a top end of the conventional highpressure vessel, and an aerosol valve 2 is disposed inside the mountingcup 1.

More specifically, a valve housing 3 of the aerosol valve 2 is combinedwith approximately the middle of the mounting cup 1, and an adapter 5 isbonded to a middle part of a pouch 4 in which contents are accommodated,and the pouch 4 is connected to a connection pipe 6 of the valve housing3 via the adapter 5. An O-ring 7 is interposed between the valve housing3 and the adapter 5 so as to seal a space therebetween.

However, in a structure for connecting the aerosol valve 2 and the pouch4 of the conventional high pressure vessel, as the type of the aerosolvalve 2 varies, the structure of peripheral elements such as an adapter5 of FIG. 1 needs to be changed.

In addition, an additional element such as an O-ring 7 for sealing aspace between a valve housing 3 and an adapter 5 of FIG. 1 needs to beintroduced, and the structure of an element such as a valve housing 3 ofFIG. 1 is complicated, which causes an increase in production costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an adapter for connecting an aerosolvalve to a pouch of a high pressure vessel, which is widely usedregardless of the type of the aerosol valve and which has a simplifiedstructure and production method with reduced production costs.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided anadapter for connecting an aerosol valve installed at a middle part of amounting cup fixed at a top end part of a high pressure vessel to apouch of the high pressure vessel, the adapter including: a combinationportion comprising a top end part interposed between the high pressurevessel and the mounting cup and having an approximately hollowcylindrical shape to surround an external side of the aerosol valveexposed to a lower part of the mounting cup; and a connection portioncomprising a top end part combined with a lower end part of thecombination portion as a single body and a lower end part connected toan induction pipe inserted in the pouch and having an approximatelyhollow cylindrical shape.

The combination portion may further include an extension part, whichextends to the connection portion from the lower end part of theconnection portion to be curved and is inserted in the connectionportion.

The combination portion may include a metal, and the connection portionmay include plastics.

The combination portion and the connection portion may be injectionmolded as a single body.

Gaskets may be respectively interposed between the high pressure vesselcombined with the top end part of the combination portion, and themounting cup so that a space between the high pressure vessel and themounting cup can be sealed.

The aerosol valve may be a tilt valve or a push valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional highpressure vessel including a pouch;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a high pressure vessel including anadapter according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the high pressure vessel shownin FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the high pressurevessel including the adapter of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an aerosol valveaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of theinvention are shown.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a high pressure vessel 10 including anadapter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3is an exploded perspective view of the high pressure vessel 10 shown inFIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the highpressure vessel 10 including the adapter of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, a mounting cup 20 is fixed at a top endpart of the high pressure vessel 10 according to the present embodiment.An aerosol valve 30 is fixedly installed at the middle part of themounting cup 20. Also, a pouch P in which contents are accommodated, isinstalled inside the high pressure vessel 10 and is pressurized to beejected by high pressure gas or compressed gas filled in the highpressure vessel 10.

Meanwhile, in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, a tilt valve such as a so-called valvefor high viscosity in which a user enables the top end part of theaerosol valve 30 to be tilted so that contents accommodated in the pouchP can be ejected, is illustrated as an example of the aerosol valve 30.However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a push valvesuch as 40 of FIG. 5, which allows contents to be ejected according to auser's push operation, may be used as the aerosol valve 30, and adetailed description thereof will be made later.

In the current embodiment of the present invention, the aerosol valve 30and the pouch P are connected to each other by an adapter 100.

The adapter 100 includes a combination portion 110 and a connectionportion 120.

A top end part 111 of the combination portion 110 is interposed betweenthe high pressure vessel 10 and the mounting cup 20. The combinationportion 110 has an approximately hollow cylindrical shape and surroundsan external side of the aerosol valve 30 exposed to a lower part of themounting cup 20 so that the combination portion 110 can be separatedfrom the external side of the aerosol valve 30. Thus, the combinationportion 110 of the adapter 100 is not directly combined with the aerosolvalve 30 but is combined with only the mounting cup 20 and the highpressure vessel 10. Thus, the adapter 100 can be widely used regardlessof the type of the aerosol valve 30. Also, the adapter 100 is notcombined with the aerosol valve 30 and thus, has a simplified structure.

The connection portion 120 also has an approximately hollow cylindricalshape, and a top end part 121 of the connection portion 120 is combinedwith a lower end part 112 of the combination portion 110 as a singlebody. A lower end part 122 of the connection portion 120 is connected toan induction pipe 50 inserted in the pouch P. Here, a fusing part 123 ofthe connection portion 120 and the pouch P are adhered to each other.More specifically, the fusing part 123 of the lower end part 122 of theconnection portion 120 and the pouch P are thermally fused to each otherso that contents accommodated in the pouch P can be prevented fromleaking via a space between the pouch P and the connection portion 120.

In addition, the combination portion 110 includes an extension part 113,which extends to the connection portion 120 from its lower end part 112to be curved and is inserted in the connection portion 120. Thecombination portion 110 and the connection portion 120 are securelyfixed by the extension part 113, and sealing a space therebetween iskept by the extension part 113.

The combination portion 110 may be formed of a metal, and the connectionportion 120 may be formed of plastics, for example, a polyethylene resinor polypropylene resin. The combination portion 110 and the connectionportion 120 may be injection molded as a single body. In this way, thecombination portion 110 and the connection portion 120 of the adapter100 are formed as a single body by injection molding, and thus, sealingbetween the combination portion 110 and the connection portion 120 canbe securely performed. A space between the top end part 121 of theconnection portion 120 and the lower end part 112 of the combinationportion 110 is securely sealed by using a primer adhesive so thatcontents accommodated in the pouch P can be prevented from leaking.

Gaskets 61 and 62 may be respectively interposed between the highpressure vessel 10, wherein the high pressure vessel 10 is combined withthe top end part 111 of the combination portion 110, and the mountingcup 20 so that a space between the high pressure vessel 10 and themounting cup 20 can be sealed.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an aerosol valve 40according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.5, a push valve, which allows contents to be ejected according to auser's push operation, is illustrated as the aerosol valve 40. In theadapter 100 according to the present invention, the combination portion110 is not directly combined with the aerosol valve 30 but is combinedwith only the mounting cup 20 and the high pressure vessel 10. Thus, theadapter 100 can be widely used regardless of the type of the aerosolvalve 30.

As described above, in the adapter for connecting an aerosol valve to apouch of a high pressure vessel according to the present invention, theadapter is not directly combined with the aerosol valve but is combinedwith only a mounting cup and a high pressure vessel so that the adaptercan be widely used regardless of the type of the aerosol valve.

Furthermore, the adapter is not combined with the aerosol valve andthus, has a simple structure, and a combination portion and a connectionportion of the adapter are formed as a single body by injection moldingso that production costs can be reduced.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1-6. (canceled)
 7. An adapter, installed at a middle part of a mountingcup and fixed at a top end part of a high pressure vessel, forconnecting an aerosol valve to a pouch of the high pressure vessel, theadapter comprising: a combination portion comprising a top end partinterposed between a high pressure vessel and a mounting cup, thecombination portion having an approximately hollow cylindrical shape tosurround an external side of an aerosol valve exposed to a lower part ofthe mounting cup, so that the combination portion can be separated fromthe external side of the aerosol valve; and a connection portioncomprising a top end part, which is combined with a lower end part ofthe combination portion as a single body, and a lower end part connectedto an induction pipe inserted in a pouch, the connection portion havingan approximately hollow cylindrical shape.
 8. The adapter of claim 7,wherein the combination portion comprises a metal, and the connectionportion comprises plastic.
 9. The adapter of claim 8, wherein thecombination portion and the connection portion are injection molded as asingle body.
 10. The adapter of claim 7, wherein gaskets are interposedbetween the high pressure vessel combined with the top end part of thecombination portion, and between the top end part of the combinationportion and the mounting cup, so that a space between the high pressurevessel and the mounting cup is sealed.
 11. The adapter of claim 7,wherein the aerosol valve is a tilt valve.
 12. The adapter of claim 7,wherein the aerosol valve is a push valve.
 13. The adapter of claim 7,wherein the combination portion further comprises an extension part,which extends to the connection portion from the lower end part of thecombination portion, the extension part curved radially inwards andinserted into the connection portion.
 14. adapter of claim 13, whereinthe combination portion comprises a metal, and the connection portioncomprises plastic.
 15. The adapter of claim 14, wherein the combinationportion and the connection portion are injection molded as a singlebody.
 16. The adapter of claim 13, wherein gaskets are interposedbetween the high pressure vessel combined with the top end part of thecombination portion, and between the top end part of the combinationportion and the mounting cup, so that a space between the high pressurevessel and the mounting cup is sealed.
 17. The adapter of claim 13,wherein the aerosol valve is a tilt valve.
 18. The adapter of claim 13,wherein the aerosol valve is a push valve.